Sen. Vitter: If Congress wants a pay raise, vote on it

Sen. David Vitter has a simple idea for members of Congress: You want a raise, ask for it and vote on the proposal.

The challenge is that Congress is slated to automatically receive annual cost-of-living adjustments — but members have voted to block or delay such increases since 2009.

Rank-and-file lawmakers earn $174,000, but party leaders in both chambers make more. House Speaker John Boehner is the highest paid leader, with an annual salary of $223,500.

Members of Congress are in line for a 1.6% cost-of-living adjustment to kick in January 2015, or an increase of $2,800 annually, according to the Congressional Research Service. But Congress is headed toward freezing pay again when lawmakers take up the spending bill to pay for legislative branch appropriations this week.

Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., has suggested a per diem to help cover expenses such as housing because he says Congress is “underpaid.” Moran’s notion has been roundly criticized, even though he acknowledged at the time he said it that Congress is widely viewed as underperforming.